Hot dog!

Some people put peanut butter on them. Some people put them intheir macaroni and cheese. Some even prefer a foot-long chili dogtopped with a large dollop of mayonnaise. Regardless of how youprefer them, hot dogs remain a staple of the summer.

"Hot dogs are quick and easy for people to grab and go," St.Joseph hair designer Patrick Hall, who prefers sauerkraut on his hotdog, says. When traveling to New York, Mr. Hall observed how popularsauerkraut is.

"It seemed almost standard to have your hot dog with sauerkraut inNew York," Mr. Hall says. "I got a hot dog from the vendor and theguy asked 'you want kraut?,' and I was like 'what?' I didn't knowwhat he meant at first."

Chili and cheese tantalize the taste buds of St. Joseph hairdesigner Kara Pike. Like many other Americans, Ms. Pike says she eatsmore hot dogs during the summertime.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americanswill consume seven billion hot dogs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.In other words, we'll devour 818 hot dogs every second.

Almost every major grocer in the area said Bar-S brand hot dogssell the best. Starting at 68 cents at the Maryville Wal-Mart, salesassociate Jennifer Schieber believes the price drives this brand tobe number one in sales.

"Parents will buy these for their kids because kids will eatanything," jokes Ms. Schieber.

Meat department manager Ed Wiebe at the St. Joseph Hy-Vee says theBar-S hot dogs also top sales, but all-beef hot dogs come in a closesecond.

The foot-long chili and cheese Coney featured at Sonic usuallysells well, according to manager Karen Chipps at the St. Joseph Sonicon Frederick. Although Coney sales drop during the summer, they stillaccount for about five percent of total sales.

But how did the hot dog develop?

Known as an American tradition, the hot dog's origins can betraced back for centuries. According to the whatscookingamerica.net,origins of the hot dog can be traced back to the ninth century B.C.Sausage, known as one of the oldest forms of processed food, wasmentioned in Homer's "Odyssey."

How the sausage evolved into a hot dog remains somewhat unclear.Roman Emperor Nero's cook, Gaius, receives credit for inventing thefirst sausage tied into sections, then stuffing seasoned meat intopig intestines in 64 A.D. During the 17th century, legend has it thatbutcher Johann Georghehner developed the popular sausage, known thenas a "dachshund" or "little-dog."

Who served the first hot dog remains debated. In 1867, CharlesFeltman decided to sell sausages on a split bun since having asandwich stand would have been difficult to maintain. His idea was asuccess; within in one year he sold 3,648 "sausages in a roll."

Still referred to as a "dachshund sausage" and not a hot dog,another story claims St. Louis to be the home of the hot dog. OneGerman peddler used to offer white gloves to customers who boughtsausages from his stand to keep from burning themselves. Since peoplekept walking off with the gloves, his wife proposed that he put thesausage in a split bun, now calling them "red hots."

How the term "hot dog" came about can be credited to sportscartoonist T.A. "Tad" Dorgan. Desperate for an idea for his column,he sketched out a dachshund. Not knowing how to spell "dachshund," hereferred to it as a "hot dog." Another story about how the term cameabout started in 1895 at Yale University. The hot dog carts thatcruised around the Yale campus and many other eastern universitieswere commonly referred to as "dog wagons." And since the "dogs" werehot, the term "hot dog" was coined. Since then, the hot dog hasbecome a mainstream in American culture.

But what's it made of?

The age-old question leads to many urban myths and legends as towhat substances go into a hot dog, but the National Hot Dog andSausage Council cuts down the rumors. They say "all hot dogs arecured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chickenand turkey or a combination of meat and poultry," with Kosher hotdogs containing no pork products. Most hot dogs sold in grocerystores are made of a variety of meats. In accordance with the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, all packaging must list all meatproducts in a hot dog. Most grocers also offer vegetarian hot dogs toaccommodate to customer demand.

No matter what goes on them, what goes in them or where they'refrom, people across the nation love their hot dogs,

"It just goes well in the summer," Ms. Pike says. "It's one ofthose dirty picnic things you do."

Hot dog!

Some people put peanut butter on them. Some people put them intheir macaroni and cheese. Some even prefer a foot-long chili dogtopped with a large dollop of mayonnaise. Regardless of how youprefer them, hot dogs remain a staple of the summer.

"Hot dogs are quick and easy for people to grab and go," St.Joseph hair designer Patrick Hall, who prefers sauerkraut on his hotdog, says. When traveling to New York, Mr. Hall observed how popularsauerkraut is.

"It seemed almost standard to have your hot dog with sauerkraut inNew York," Mr. Hall says. "I got a hot dog from the vendor and theguy asked 'you want kraut?,' and I was like 'what?' I didn't knowwhat he meant at first."

Chili and cheese tantalize the taste buds of St. Joseph hairdesigner Kara Pike. Like many other Americans, Ms. Pike says she eatsmore hot dogs during the summertime.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americanswill consume seven billion hot dogs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.In other words, we'll devour 818 hot dogs every second.

Almost every major grocer in the area said Bar-S brand hot dogssell the best. Starting at 68 cents at the Maryville Wal-Mart, salesassociate Jennifer Schieber believes the price drives this brand tobe number one in sales.

"Parents will buy these for their kids because kids will eatanything," jokes Ms. Schieber.

Meat department manager Ed Wiebe at the St. Joseph Hy-Vee says theBar-S hot dogs also top sales, but all-beef hot dogs come in a closesecond.

The foot-long chili and cheese Coney featured at Sonic usuallysells well, according to manager Karen Chipps at the St. Joseph Sonicon Frederick. Although Coney sales drop during the summer, they stillaccount for about five percent of total sales.

But how did the hot dog develop?

Known as an American tradition, the hot dog's origins can betraced back for centuries. According to the whatscookingamerica.net,origins of the hot dog can be traced back to the ninth century B.C.Sausage, known as one of the oldest forms of processed food, wasmentioned in Homer's "Odyssey."

How the sausage evolved into a hot dog remains somewhat unclear.Roman Emperor Nero's cook, Gaius, receives credit for inventing thefirst sausage tied into sections, then stuffing seasoned meat intopig intestines in 64 A.D. During the 17th century, legend has it thatbutcher Johann Georghehner developed the popular sausage, known thenas a "dachshund" or "little-dog."

Who served the first hot dog remains debated. In 1867, CharlesFeltman decided to sell sausages on a split bun since having asandwich stand would have been difficult to maintain. His idea was asuccess; within in one year he sold 3,648 "sausages in a roll."

Still referred to as a "dachshund sausage" and not a hot dog,another story claims St. Louis to be the home of the hot dog. OneGerman peddler used to offer white gloves to customers who boughtsausages from his stand to keep from burning themselves. Since peoplekept walking off with the gloves, his wife proposed that he put thesausage in a split bun, now calling them "red hots."

How the term "hot dog" came about can be credited to sportscartoonist T.A. "Tad" Dorgan. Desperate for an idea for his column,he sketched out a dachshund. Not knowing how to spell "dachshund," hereferred to it as a "hot dog." Another story about how the term cameabout started in 1895 at Yale University. The hot dog carts thatcruised around the Yale campus and many other eastern universitieswere commonly referred to as "dog wagons." And since the "dogs" werehot, the term "hot dog" was coined. Since then, the hot dog hasbecome a mainstream in American culture.

But what's it made of?

The age-old question leads to many urban myths and legends as towhat substances go into a hot dog, but the National Hot Dog andSausage Council cuts down the rumors. They say "all hot dogs arecured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chickenand turkey or a combination of meat and poultry," with Kosher hotdogs containing no pork products. Most hot dogs sold in grocerystores are made of a variety of meats. In accordance with the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, all packaging must list all meatproducts in a hot dog. Most grocers also offer vegetarian hot dogs toaccommodate to customer demand.

No matter what goes on them, what goes in them or where they'refrom, people across the nation love their hot dogs,

"It just goes well in the summer," Ms. Pike says. "It's one ofthose dirty picnic things you do."